Gina Harkins

Gina Harkins previously covered the Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard for Military.com. She has covered troops and their families for nearly a decade, reporting from the U.S., Central and South America, and at sea. Before joining Military.com, Gina was a longtime reporter and managing editor for the independent Marine Corps Times. Her story on two recruits trapped at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina was runner up for the 2013 Military Reporters and Editors award for domestic military coverage. She holds a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and studied political science and international relations in her undergrad at Northeastern Illinois University.

Latest Articles

The Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System.

Marines Fire Anti-Ship Missile from Back of Unmanned Truck to Hit Target at Sea

The Marine Corps has combined two existing technologies to produce a deadly new way to hit targets offshore.

U.S. Marines live-fire training conducted in Australia.

Australia Will Invest Millions to Upgrade Military Sites Where US Marines Train

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced plans to invest about $582 million into four military training and weapon ranges.

Cmdr. Joseph Lautenslager Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam

Hawaii-Based Navy Submarine Commander Relieved Over Morale Problems

A command investigation revealed leadership and command climate problems.

Marines conduct a Table 3 combat marksmanship course of fire

The Marine Corps Is Known as a Force of Young Warriors. That's About to Change

Small units -- including infantry squads -- need to be led by a staff sergeant, Commandant Gen. David Berger wrote in an...

U.S. Marines live fire exercise at a range near Camp Devil Dog

The Marine Corps Is Experimenting with a Concept that Could Reshape the Infantry

Three infantry battalions are spending two years testing new models that could revolutionize the Marine Corps' ground combat...

A group of Marines running as part of a body composition program at Camp Pendleton, California.

The Marines Need Volunteers to Help Them Reassess Body Standards

The study population will include Marines of all ages and those who are postpartum.

Female recruits Marine Corps Recruit Depot

53 Women Officially Become Marines at Formerly All-Male Boot Camp

The female platoon with Lima Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion won the final drill competition.

After Fatal Accident, Marines in Waterborne AAVs Get Emergency Breathing Devices

Any Marine operating or riding in a waterborne AAV will now get a supplemental emergency breathing device, Military.com has...

Navy Stops Sending New Recruits to Army Training Base Used During Pandemic

Navy recruits will no longer spend weeks at a Wisconsin Army base hundreds of miles from their boot camp site, the service...

National Guard Washington security presence

More National Guard Troops Approved for DC as the Derek Chauvin Trial Goes to the Jury

Washington is bracing for demonstrations as the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged with George Floyd's...

Camp Lejeune Barracks Shooting that Left Marine Injured Was Accidental, NCIS Says

Officials have declined to answer questions about the type of weapon that was fired.

Woman potentially first vice commandant in Coast Guard history

The Coast Guard May Get Its First Female Four-Star Admiral

If confirmed, Vice Adm. Linda Fagan will be the first female officer to reach the rank of four-star in the service's 230-year...

U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Robert F. Castellvi Camp Pendleton

Lawmakers Question General's Prestigious Pentagon Assignment After Fatal AAV Accident

Maj. Gen. Robert Castellvi's assignment as Marine Corps inspector general was sharply questioned by a California lawmaker.

USS Montgomery (LCS 8) transits from Naval Base San Diego to the Pacific Ocean.

'Super Corvette:' Former Navy Secretary Reveals He Pushed to Rename Littoral Combat Ship

The Navy plans to divest itself of the first four experimental LCSs.

Marine Injured in Camp Lejeune Barracks Shooting

A member of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, discharged the weapon that led to the injuries, said spokesman 1st Lt. Dan Linfante.

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Most Popular Military News

U.S. Navy SEAL candidates participate in BUD/S training.

Navy SEAL Instructors 'Hunted' Weaker Candidates Amid Poor Medical Care, Drug Use

The SEAL training course is rife with overzealous instructors, spotty medical care and students who were so determined to...

Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags in front of each headstone at Arlington National Cemetery.

This Memorial Day, VA Adds More than 300,000 Veterans to its Legacy Memorial Project Site

The website contains interactive landing pages for 4.8 million veterans buried in VA cemeteries and elsewhere.

Man wearing Oath Keepers shirt outside the Kenosha County Courthouse.

Nearly 1 in 3 Veterans Agree with Racist Great Replacement Theory, Rand Study Finds

A new study by Rand Corp. has found a much smaller number of veterans, compared to the general population, say they believe...

Retired Staff Sgt. Nick Maimer and retired Lt. Col. Perry Blackburn.

Body of US Special Forces Veteran Turned Over by Russian Mercenary Group

Nick Maimer was killed in the embattled city of Bakhmut on May 15 or 16.

Tripler Army Medical Center to Pay $29.5M in Malpractice Case

Hawaii's U.S. District Court on Tuesday awarded $29.5 million to a local military family in the largest medical malpractice...

'He's Home': Missing 73 Years, Medal of Honor Recipient's Remains Return to Georgia

A soldier awarded the Medal of Honor after he went missing in battle during the Korean War is being buried on Memorial Day...

Latest Military Videos

Russia Hits Kyiv in Pre-Dawn Attack

Russia launched a pre-dawn attack on Ukraine's capital Tuesday as its air defences worked to stop drones in what...

EU's Borrell Condemns Kosovo Violence

The European Union’s top diplomat, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, on Tuesday condemned violence in the north of Kosovo...

Moscow Attacked by Drones

Moscow residents reported hearing explosions and the Russian Defence Ministry later said that eight drones had been fired at...

Cocaine Labeled with Swastika Seized in Peru

Peruvian anti-drug police seized 127 pounds of packages of cocaine on Thursday bearing a picture of a Nazi flag...

Investigations and Features

The Threat from Extremist Groups Is Growing. Service Members and Vets Are Getting Sucked into the Violence.

The U.S. intelligence community deemed racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism -- with adherents such as white...

They Said the Rise in Military Suicide Is a Mystery. Traumatic Brain Injury May Be an Answer.

Veterans who have had a head injury are at higher risk for suicide, but these deaths can be prevented, experts say.

Army News

Spc. Austin Valley in his dress uniform.

A Soldier Attempted Suicide in Poland. Left to Roam at Fort Riley, He Killed Himself.

The unit's response to Valley's first attempt to kill himself raises questions over whether the Army's suicide prevention...

'He's Home': Missing 73 Years, Medal of Honor Recipient's Remains Return to Georgia

A soldier awarded the Medal of Honor after he went missing in battle during the Korean War is being buried on Memorial Day...

Navy News

U.S. Coast Guard Port Security Unit (PSU) 311 members and U.S. Navy Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron 11 members complete joint agency exercises aboard a 32-foot transportable port security boat off San Clemente Island.

Navy Contractor Jet Was on Fire Before Deadly California Crash, Federal Report Says

The report didn’t mention a possible cause for the fire or the crash.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation.

Defense Secretary Tells Navy Graduates They Are Ready to Serve

The secretary said naval officers have a special understanding of the power of teamwork, and "we need that spirit for the...

Air Force News

Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron "Thunderbirds" fly over the United States Air Force Academy

Air Force Academy Senior Wins Miss Colorado Competition

Madison Marsh, an Arkansas native and reigning Miss Academy, was crowned on Saturday after beating out about 20 local pageant...

Massachusetts National Guard Changes Linked to Leak Case

Top brass at the Massachusetts National Guard said the military outfit is holding off on making changes before findings are...

Space Force News

Redstone Arsenal moves its main gate farther from the interstate

Have Space Command HQ Requirements Changed? Investigations Underway

The secretary of the Air Force, authorized with making the final decision on the permanent home for Space Command...

Space Launch Delta 30 at the monthly Delta Dash at Vandenberg SVB.

Space Force Rolls Out Fitness Trackers to Guardians in Lieu of Traditional Testing

The Space Force announced it will conduct a two-year testing period on wearable fitness trackers as part of its newly...

Marine Corps News

Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers.

Veteran Who Led Oath Keepers Sentenced to 18 Years for Role in Jan. 6 Attack

Stewart Rhodes is the first person charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack to be sentenced for seditious conspiracy, and his...

A photo of then Second Lieutenant Lou Schott poses for a portrait in 1943. (TNS/ Jeffrey F. Bill)

102-Year-Old Maryland Veteran Awarded Silver Star for World War II Service in the Pacific

Nearly 78 years after his actions, Schott, 102, was awarded the Silver Star, the U.S. Armed Forces' third-highest military...

Coast Guard News

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas delivered the keynote address at the Coast Guard Academy

Sending Out Ensigns on Humanitarian Missions, Coast Guard Academy Graduates 243

The United States Coast Guard Academy graduated 243 students at its 142nd commencement, preparing to send many to far-off...

Coast Guard Suspends Search for Plane with 3 Passengers that Crashed off California Coast

The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a plane that crashed in the ocean near San Clemente Island on Wednesday...